December 11
Events * 359 - The first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, Honoratus, took office. *1282 - Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Gruffudd (b. c. 1228) the last native Prince of Wales, was killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales. He was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by King Edward I of England. Some would say he was the penultimate, but in effect he was the last ruler. In Welsh, he is remembered by the alliterative soubriquet Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf (Llywelyn, Our Last Leader). *1602 - A surprise attack by forces under the command of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva. (This actually takes place after midnight, in the early morning of December 12, but commemorations/celebrations on Fête de l'Escalade are usually held on December 11 or the closest weekend.) *1792 - French Revolution: King Louis XVI of France is put on trial for treason by the National Convention. *1816 - Indiana becomes the 19th U.S. state. *1872 - P.B.S. Pinchback is sworn in as the first black member of the U.S. House of Representatives. *1886 - Dial Square FC, a football club from Woolwich, London that will eventually become known as Arsenal FC, play their first match, a 6-0 win over Eastern Wanderers. *1917 - British troops take Jerusalem from the troops of the Ottoman Empire *1925 - Quas Primas encyclical was promulgated, introducing the Feast of Christ the King. *1927 - Guangzhou Uprising: Communist militia and worker red guards launch an uprising in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, taking over most of the city and announcing the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet. *1931 - The British Parliament enacts the Statute of Westminster, which establishes a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa. *1934 - A fire at the Hotel Kerns in Lansing, kills 34 people. *1936 - Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India becomes effective. *1937 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italy leaves the League of Nations *1941 - World War II: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. *1946 - The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established. *1958 - Upper Volta declares its independence from France, and becomes an autonomous republic in the French Community. *1961 - Melvin Calvin Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry for process of photosynthesis. *1964 - Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. An unknown terrorist fired a mortar shell at the building during the speech. *1971 - The Libertarian Party of the United States is formed. *1972 - Apollo 17 becomes the sixth mission to land on the Moon. *1980 - The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (known as either CERCLA or Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress. * 1981 - El Mozote massacre: Salvadoran armed forces kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the country's civil war. *1993 - Forty-eight people are killed when a block of the Highland Towers collapses near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. *1994 - First Chechen War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin orders Russian troops into Chechnya *1997 - The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opens for signature. *1998 - A Thai Airways Airbus A310-200 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101. *2001 - The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization. * 2005 - The Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead is rocked by explosions, causing a huge oil fire. * 2005 - Cronulla riots: Thousands of White Australians demonstrate against ethnic violence resulting in a riot against anyone thought to be Lebanese (and many who were not) in Cronulla Sydney. These are followed up by ethnic attacks on Cronulla. *2006 - The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Births *1465 - Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (d. 1489) *1475 - Pope Leo X (d. 1521) *1566 - Manuel Cardoso, Portuguese composer (d. 1650) *1680 - Emanuele d'Astorga, Italian composer (d. 1736) *1709 - Louise Elisabeth of Orléans, queen consort of Spain (d. 1742) *1712 - Francesco Algarotti. Italian philosopher (d. 1764) *1725 - George Mason, American statesman (d. 1792) *1761 - Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian physicist (d. 1835) *1781 - Sir David Brewster, British physicist (d. 1868) *1801 - Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German writer (d. 1836) *1803 - Hector Berlioz, French composer (d. 1869) *1810 - Alfred de Musset, French poet (d. 1857) *1838 - John Labatt, Irish-Canadian brewer (d. 1915) *1843 - Robert Koch, German bacteriologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1910) *1858 - Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian theatre director (d. 1943) *1863 - Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (d. 1941) *1873 - Josip Plemelj, Slovenian mathematician (d. 1967) *1880 - Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (d. 1951) *1882 - Subramanya Bharathy, Indian poet (d. 1921) * 1882 - Max Born, German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1970) * 1882 - Fiorello LaGuardia, American statesman (d. 1947) *1883 - Victor McLaglen, British-born American actor (d. 1959) *1889 - Walter Knott, American farmer (d. 1981) *1890 - Carlos Gardel, tango singer (d. 1935) * 1890 - Mark Tobey, American painter (d. 1976) *1905 - Gilbert Roland, American actor (d. 1994) * 1905 - Robert Henriques, British writer (d. 1967) *1908 - Elliott Carter, American composer *1910 - Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (d. 1937) *1911 - Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 2006) * 1911 - Val Guest, British film director (d. 2006) *1912 - Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (d. 2007) *1913 - Jean Marais, French actor (d. 1998) *1916 - Dámaso Pérez Prado, Cuban-born bandleader (d. 1989) *1918 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian writer, Nobel laureate *1919 - Marie Windsor, American actress (d. 2000) *1922 - Grace Paley, American writer * 1922 - Dilip Kumar, Indian actor * 1922 - Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer (d. 2005) *1923 - Betsy Blair, American actress *1925 - Paul Greengard, American neuroscientist, Nobel laureate *1926 - Big Mama Thornton, American singer (d. 1984) *1927 - John Buscema, American comics artist (d. 2002) *1930 - Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor * 1930 - Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress *1931 - Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican actress * 1931 - Pierre Pilote, Canadian ice hockey player * 1931 - Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian guru (d. 1990) *1933 - Aquilino Pimentel, Filipino politician *1935 - Ron Carey, American actor (d. 2007) * 1935 - Pranab Mukherjee, Indian politician * 1935 - Elmer Vasko, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1998) *1936 - Taku Yamasaki, Japanese politician *1937 - Jim Harrison, American writer *1938 - McCoy Tyner, American jazz pianist * 1938 - Enrico Macias, Algerian-born French singer *1939 - Tom Hayden, American politician * 1939 - Thomas McGuane, American writer *1940 - David Gates, American musician (Bread) *1941 - Jean-Paul Parise, Canadian ice hockey player *1942 - Donna Mills, American actress *1943 - John Kerry, American politician *1944 - Teri Garr, American film actress * 1944 - Lynda Day George, American actress * 1944 - Brenda Lee, American singer * 1944 - Jon Garrison, American tenor *1948 - Stamatis Spanoudakis, Greek composer *1950 - Christina Onassis, American heiress (d. 1988) *1953 - Bess Armstrong, American actress *1954 - Jermaine Jackson, American musician * 1954 - Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Icelandic engineer *1956 - Lani Brockman, Playwright *1958 - Nikki Sixx, American musician (Mötley Crüe) *1959 - Lisa Gastineau, American reality show star *1962 - Ben Browder, American actor * 1962 - Nele Karajlić, Bosnian singer *1963 - Jon Brion, American musician/record producer *1964 - Michel Courtemanche, Quebec comedian * 1964 - John Mark Karr, American who claimed involvement in JonBenét Ramsey case * 1964 - David Schools, American musician (Widespread Panic) * 1964 - Cosy Sheridan, American singer * 1964 - Carolyn Waldo, Canadian synchronized swimmer *1966 - Gary Dourdan, American actor * 1966 - Leon Lai, Cantonese singer/actor *1967 - DJ Yella, American music producer * 1967 - Mo'Nique, American actress/comedienne *1969 - Vishwanathan Anand, Indian chess grandmaster * 1969 - Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Norwegian footballer * 1969 - Sean Grande, American sportscaster *1972 - Daniel Alfredsson, Swedish ice hockey player * 1972 - Sami Al-Jaber, Saudi Arabian footballer * 1972 - Dana Macsim, Romanian television news reporter *1973 - Mos Def, American rapper and actor *1974 - Rey Mysterio, American professional wrestler * 1974 - Ben Shephard, English TV personality *1975 - Gerben de Knegt, Dutch cyclist * 1975 - Tomoka Kurotani, Japanese actress *1976 - Shareef Abdur-Rahim, American basketball player *1977 - Mark Streit, Swiss ice hockey player *1979 - Rider Strong, American actor *1980 - Arya, Indian actor *1981 - Nikki Benz, Canadian actress * 1981 - Hamish Blake, Australian comedian * 1981 - Paul Medhurst, Australian rules footballer * 1981 - Javier Saviola, Argentine footballer * 1981 - Zacky Vengeance, American musician (Avenged Sevenfold) *1982 - Pablo Pérez Companc, Argentine racing driver *1984 - Leighton Baines, English footballer *1987 - Natalia Gordienko, Moldovan singer and dancer *1988 - Murugan Thiruchelvam, English chess prodigy *1993 - Gina Miele, American singer and actress Deaths *384 - Pope Damasus I *1121 - Al-Afdal Shahanshah, Caliph of Egypt (b. 1066) *1226 - Robert de Ros, English politician (b. 1177) *1282 - Llywelyn the Last, King of Gwynedd * 1282 - Michael VIII Palaiologos, Greek Byzantine Emperor (b. 1225) *1532 - Pietro Accolti, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1455) *1694 - Ranuccio II Farnese (b. 1630) *1737 - John Strype, English historian (b. 1643) *1757 - Edmund Curll, English bookseller (b. 1675) *1797 - Richard Brocklesby, English physician (b. 1722) *1840 - Emperor Kokaku of Japan (b. 1771) *1880 - Oliver Fisher Winchester, American businessman and politician (b. 1810) *1892 - William Milligan, Scottish theologian (b. 1821) *1909 - Innokenty Annensky, Russian poet (b. 1855) *1918 - Ivan Cankar, Slovenian writer (b. 1876) *1920 - Olive Schreiner, South African writer (b. 1855) *1938 - Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian pacifist and recipient of Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869) *1941 - John Gillespie Magee, American poet and aviator (b. 1922) * 1941 - Charles Émile Picard, French mathematician (b. 1856) *1945 - Charles Fabry, French physicist (b. 1867) *1950 - Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1893) *1957 - Musidora (Jeanne Roques), French actress (b. 1889) *1959 - Jim Bottomley, American baseball player (b. 1900) *1964 - Sam Cooke, American singer (b. 1931) * 1964 - Percy Kilbride, American actor (b. 1888) *1971 - Maurice "Mac" McDonald, American fast-food pioneer (b. 1902) *1978 - Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901) * 1978 - Paul O'Dea, Baseball player (b. 1920) *1983 - Sir Neil Ritchie, British General (b. 1897) *1984 - Oskar Seidlin, German-born American scholar (b. 1911) *1987 - G. A. Kulkarni, Indian (Marathi) writer (b. 1923) *1989 - Louise Dahl-Wolfe, American photographer (b. 1895) *1991 - Robert Q. Lewis, American game show host and actor (b. 1921) * 1991 - Artur Lundkvist, Swedish author and critic (b. 1906) *1994 - Philip Phillips, American archaeologist (b. 1900) *1996 - Willie Rushton, English cartoonist (b. 1937) *1998 - André Lichnerowicz, Polish-French physicist (b. 1915) *1998 - Lynn Strait, American singer (b. 1968) * 1999 - Kami, Japanese drummer (Malice Mizer) (b. 1972) *2000 - Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, Pakistani politician, diplomat and author (b. 1915) * 2000 - David Lewis, American actor (b. 1916) *2003 - Ahmadou Kourouma, Côte d'Ivoire writer (b. 1927) *2004 - M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian singer (b. 1916) * 2004 - José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1962) * 2004 - Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand running coach (b. 1917) *2006 - Elizabeth Bolden, American, oldest verified person in the world at the time of her death (b. 1890) Holidays and observances * Roman festivals - One of the four Agonalia, this day in honour of Sol Indiges; also the Septimontium festival * R.C. Saints - Pope Damasus I: optional memorial; Victoricus * Argentina - Tango Day, Buenos Aires * Burkina Faso - Republic Day (1958, Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community.) * USA - Admission day for Indiana (19th state, 1816) * USA - Governor Ralph Carr Day, Colorado's State Holiday since 2002 * Wales - Remembrance Day of Llywelyn II * Philippines - Pampanga Day, local official holiday External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:December